June 24, 2011

Elder Flower Cordial a la Palle

This recipe on elder flower cordial I have been using for the last couple of years production. It is a good rowing friend called "Palle", which has shared this specific recipe with me. And I very grateful for this, as this recipe has a good balance between sweetness and acidity combined with an unique flavour twist of lemon grass.

I assume you have been shopping all the different ingredients (since Sunday), where I mentioned, which you would need for the special elder flower cordial, so now you should be ready to make your version of it :-)

UPDATE June 2014:
This elder flower tea is another match made in heaven for the monthly blogging event Tea Time Treats have the theme of flower. Tea Time Treast is managed by Karen from Lavender and Lovageand Jane from The Hedge Combers. The theme for June 2014 has been selected by Karen to be "get floral in flaming June".

Elder Flower Cordial a la Palle:

50 elder flowers

2 lemons - organic

4 limes - organic

4 lemon grass

4 tablespoons of citric acid (40 g)

1 kg cane sugar

450 g honey

2,25 l water

Shake the elder flowers very, very well, so they are free from various insects. DO NOT use water for this cleaning step, as this will reduce the wonderful taste of elder flower significantly as you remove the "yellow" flavour dust/pollen.

Use a siccor to cut the flowers from the flower stem, as these apparently will increase the bitterness level in the final cordial.

Place the elder flower into a big bowl, which you can close with a lid at the end.

Slice the citrus fruit into thin slices. Add into the bowl.

Cut the lemon grass into rough pieces. Add them into the bowl.

Add the cane sugar and honey on top

Add the citric acid as well.

Add the boiling water into the bowl.

Cover the bowl with the lid.

Let the content cool down to room temperature, before you place the bowl in the refrigerator.

Stir or shake the bowl daily during the infusion time.

Let the elder flower cordial infuse for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.

Sieve the cordial to remove all the different ingredients.

Prepare the glass bottles by by filling them
with boiling water. I do not use any preservatives, so this is important to increase shelf-life of your cordial.

You can also use plastic bottles, if you want to freeze the cordial as another way of preserving it. Remember NOT to fill these bottles completely, as liquid will increase in volume, when turning into ice.

Enjoy the Midsummer power infusion as plain cordial mixing with water (with or without gas), mixing with wine or sparkling wine. Or mix it gin or vodka and lots of ice.